A&M’s Roberts, UTSA’s Benford advance in NCAA track

Joey Roberts fared well with some of the top 800-meter runners in the nation for the second straight day on Friday, qualifying to compete in the NCAA Division I Outdoor championship meet.

Roberts, a Texas A&M junior from Marshall, finished with the sixth best time in the quarterfinals at the NCAA West Preliminary.

With the effort, he will move on to the NCAA championship rounds, scheduled June 8-11, in Des Moines, Iowa. UTSA’s Keith Benford also qualified for nationals on Friday, finishing tied for third in the high jump.

Ranked ninth in the region coming into the meet, Roberts ran a time of 1 minute, 46.89 seconds at the West meet, held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The top time of the day in the 800 quarterfinals belonged to Oregon sophomore Elijah Greer in 1:45.98.

On Thursday, Greer beat Roberts by one hundredth of a second (1:48.56 to 1:48.57) in the opening round.

Benford, a sophomore from Pflugerville, was one one of six athletes to clear 7-feet and 1/4 inches.

For his day’s work, Benford cleared 6-7, missed at 6-9, made 6-9, then followed with successful first attempts at 6-11 and 7-0 1/4.

With the effort, Roberts and Benford will join other local athletes moving on to Des Moines, including:

Nate Brunette, a UTSA sophomore from Humble, ran 21.46 in the first round of the 200 meters to move into the quarterfinals. The quarters will be held Saturday at Hayward Field, with the top 12 moving on to Des Moines. Brunette will have his work cut out for him. He had the 20th fastest time of 24 qualifiers Friday.

Earlier in the day, Brunette failed to advance past the 100 quarterfinals. He ran 10.67 for the day’s 17th best time. Oklahoma junior Rakieem Salaam sped 10.29 going into a headwind for the day’s top effort.

Christina Holland, a Baylor sophomore from Judson, missed a trip to Des Moines by one one hundredth of a second. Holland had the 13th fastest time in the 400 hurdles quarterfinals. Arizona State’s Kayla Sanchez ran 58.57 seconds for the last qualifying spot. Holland was next at 58.58.

Demi Payne, a Kansas freshman from New Braunfels, failed to make the top 12 in the pole vault. Payne, who placed eighth at the Big 12 meet, cleared 12-7 1/2 but missed three times at 13-1 1/2. Texas State’s Elena Horn suffered a worse fate, making 12-1 1/2 and missing thrice at 12-7 1/2.